The color drains from Kyle's face. For a moment, everything stands still. He's frozen, unable to move.
His eyes are locked onto Ashen, disbelief radiating through him like a sudden storm. "Oh my god, what did I do?" he murmurs, voice barely audible, a muffled whisper drowned in emotion.
Guilt and Disbelief bleeds into his tone, laced with self-loathing and dawning horror.
"What?! You guys know each other?" Ashen asks, blinking rapidly, his voice touched with confusion. But then his face lights up as though he's just pieced together a beautiful coincidence. "I mean... This is even better," he says brightly, too brightly.
Jess stumbles, shock rendering him unsteady, only to be held up by Tanner who, equally stunned, remains frozen, his mind reeling.
Kyle's whisper comes again, this time smaller, weaker, "What did I do?"
"What?" Ashen's voice comes with confusion at the repeated murmurs from kyle.
